SOUTHEAST OAKLAND COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS: Royal Oak Rotarians take part in version of Jeopardy!

Bloomfield Hills Rotarians Nancy Sieloff (left) and John Wilson were second place finishers in Rotary Jeopardy!, a contest benefiting the eradication of polio. Dave Zimmer and Wendee Rex took first place home to the Birmingham Rotary Club, while the lone defender for Royal Oak Rotary, Don Chisholm, had to be content with third place.

Rotary Club of Birmingham, championed by its team of Dave Zimmer and Wendee Rex, charged to a decisive victory in the Rotary Jeopardy! challenge luncheon hosted by Royal Oak Rotary at the Boys & Girls Clubs of South Oakland County.

"This is my fourth year and I'm retiring victoriously," Rex said. "It's nice to have fun with other clubs while we continue to work together to do more for our communities.

"Today we're all winners because we're contributing to the Polio Plus program to finish the job of eradicating polio in the final three countries with outbreaks."

Bloomfield Hills Rotary Past President John Wilson, who led his club to victory in 2008 and 2009 and to a tie with Royal Oak Rotary last year, had been confident he and teammate Nancy Sieloff would once again take home the trophy. They had to be content with second place.

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Past District Governor Don Chisholm was the lone contender for Royal Oak Rotary when his teammate Stan Sherman was a no-show. Even Chisholm's valiant efforts couldn't save Royal Oak from a third-place finish.

Contestants are given "answers" taken from the last three issues of "The Rotarian" magazine and must give their responses in the form of a question, just like on the Jeopardy! TV show.

All three teams gave the correct question to the Final Jeopardy! answer, which was Romperact. The correct question was, "What is what Rotary Clubs might be called, which welcome children of Rotarians to their meetings and projects?" Romperact is a play on Interact, a Rotary service club in high schools. Royal Oak High School has a very active Interact Club.

"As a club, we have to attract younger members," Rex said about the recent trend to include young family members in Rotary meetings and activities.

Each Rotary Club that participates in Rotary Jeopardy! donates $200 to the Rotary International Foundation to help continue its 25-year, $1 billion Polio Plus effort to eradicate polio in the world.

Since the Polio Plus program's inception, more than two billion children have received oral polio vaccine.

India is the most recent country to be declared free of new polio cases, leaving only small geographic areas of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria still experiencing polio outbreaks.

Prospective members are always welcome at Rotary meetings. The Rotary Club of Royal Oak meets at 12:10 p.m. Tuesdays at the Salter Community Center, 1545 E. Lincoln Ave., in Royal Oak; Bloomfield Hills Rotary meets 12:15 p.m. Thursdays at Bloomfield Open Hunt, 504 E. Long Lake Road in Bloomfield Hills; Birmingham Rotary meets at 12:10 p.m. Mondays at The Community House, 380 S. Bates St., in Birmingham.

The Royal Oak Optimist Club celebrated 12 outstanding young people at their annual Youth Appreciation Awards Nov. 14 at the Boys & Girls Club of South Oakland County.

"This awards breakfast gives our Optimist Club members an opportunity to get to know some of the most well-accomplished young people in this community," said Optimist President Jay Dunstan. "It also gives the students an opportunity to highlight their accomplishments."

Royal Oak High School students William Davids, Yousif Maizy, Alexis Filippis and Haley Smallwood; Berkley High School's Daniella Silver, Sarah Michalak, Emily Cohn and Rachel Krasnick; and from Royal Oak Shrine High School Matt Nadai, Mark Ruhle, Emily Dealand, Kaitlin Prakken, were this year' awardees.

The students are involved in many school activities, such as National Honor Society, Model United Nations and student council, as well as volunteering in the community.

Two years ago, Emily and Rachel started the successful Berkley Volunteer Club to connect Berkley High students with outside charities they are interested in helping. Yousif is the Boys & Girls Club's 2012 Youth of the Year.

The award winners took home a certificate of recognition, a $25 Barnes & Noble gift card and a computer thumb drive.

The $5 charge will benefit Tigerlily Cat Rescue at Rescue's spay/neuter program for low-income and seniors. Tigerlily will be bringing kitties looking for new homes for the holidays and forever.

Woman's Club Holiday Tea

The Royal Oak Woman's Club honors their past presidents at the club's annual Holiday Tea, this year planned to begin at 12:45 p.m. Monday, Dec. 3 at their historic clubhouse, 404 S. Pleasant St. The Royal Oak High School Chamber Singers will entertain.

Membership in the Royal Oak Woman's Club is open to all women, regardless of where they reside. Prospective members interested in attending the tea should call Membership Chairman Emily Petrovski at 248-762-6465.

National parks of Utah

Take a break from holiday preparations to learn about Utah's beautiful rock formations at the Royal Oak Nature Society's meeting at 7:25 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 5 at the Royal Oak Middle School Gathering Place, 709 N. Washington Ave.

Retired Sterling Heights naturalist Gordon Lonie will take attendees on a pictorial tour of Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef and Zion National Parks, Dinosaur National Monument and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

Tickets are available at the door for $10 for adults, $7 for students and seniors age 60 and over. Ages 18 and under attend free.

Kids' Lunch with Santa

The very popular Lunch with Santa, an annual event of the General Federation of Women's Clubs Clawson Juniors, will be Saturday, Dec. 8 at the Hunter Community Center, 509 Fisher Ct., in Clawson.

Lunch will be served at 11 a.m. and includes a hot dog, potato chips, cookies and a beverage. Santa will give the children a small gift

Tickets are $5 and can be purchased at Hunter Community Center. No tickets will be sold at the door, and everyone must have a ticket. Call Sue at 248-435-2739 or Eva at 248-280-4908 for more information.

Have news about your club, organization or interesting individuals in Southeast Oakland County you would like to share with the community? Email Jeanne Towar at jeanne.towar@gmail.com or call 248-890-8370.